Sandra de Bruin is an
established actress who has appeared in more than 100 television series (ER, Barnaby
Jones, The Rockford Files, Three’s Company, The Tonight Show with Johnny
Carson, to name but a few), TV films (Law and Order, Return to
Earth) and feature films (The Andromeda Strain, Gray Lady Down).
She has done numerous commercials, worked in voice-over and looping, danced at
the Los Angeles Music Center and is the creator of the bestselling Actor's
Audition Log. Sandra will periodically be sharing her stories of
working with Hollywood legends, which will appear in a forthcoming memoir about
her on-and off-screen adventures.
BY SANDRA DE BRUIN WITH DEAN BRIERLY
Throughout my wonderfully
unpredictable career I’ve enjoyed a number of repeat chance meetings with
various Hollywood luminaries, perhaps none so memorable as my close encounters
of the Cliff Robertson kind.
Each
film generation boasts a handful of actor’s actors, leading men and women whose
work is exceptional yet unaffected in ways that only fellow performers might
recognize. To me, Cliff Robertson was such a paradigm during a sparkling career
that spanned five-plus decades.
Although
he had done acclaimed work in film and television earlier in his career and had
a strong stage background, I first became aware of him after seeing the 1963
WWII film P.T. 109, wherein he played
John F. Kennedy, then a Naval Lieutenant on the titular torpedo boat. However,
Cliff’s Oscar-winning performance in Charly
(1969) solidified my admiration for him. Not as the popular macho hero of the
time, but as a mildly intellectually disabled adult who agrees to an experiment
that temporarily imbues him with a super-intellect. It also leads to a romance
with his night school teacher that inevitably turns tragic when Charly
regresses to his previous mental state. A truly forward-looking film, both sad
and inspiring thanks largely to Cliff’s talent.
In
the late 1970s he became every actor’s hero when he exposed the fact that Columbia
Pictures studio chief David Begelman had been embezzling money through forged
checks. Begelman was subsequently fired, but a year later was named head of
MGM, such was Tinseltown’s morality at that time. But the industry didn’t thank
Cliff. The studios stood behind their executives, no matter how corrupt, and
Cliff suddenly found himself blacklisted for several years. (David McClintick’s
1982 book Indecent Exposure details
the entire sordid story.)
However, prior to the blacklisting, he was still landing
great roles in significant films through the first half of the ’70s, notably Too Late the Hero (1970), J.W. Coop (1971) and Three Days of the Condor (1975). Also in
1975 came Return to Earth, a TV movie
about Buzz Aldrin, the second astronaut to walk on the moon, and his subsequent
mental breakdown as his career and marriage disintegrated. I was cast as
Aldrin’s Air Force secretary. However, the shoot date was an “on or about,â€
meaning sometime in a week or so, giving me an opportunity to work on other
shows.
The
timing was right, as Lady Luck smiled on me and I was cast on the mystery/comedy
TV show Ellery Queen. Dina Merrill, the
beautiful New York socialite-turned-actor, married to Cliff Robertson, was the
guest star. The breakdown for my character was “an inept secretary in a
lawyer’s outer office.†The scene opened with me filing my nails and Dina with
her male assistant entering and announcing herself at my desk. I was to buzz my
boss on the intercom that she had arrived, then jump up and escort her to his
office. Well, when I jumped up I accidently knocked over my pencil holder,
sending pens and pencils all over the floor in front of her. As I babbled an
incoherent apology her assistant immediately began picking up the pencils. The
crew and some bystanders, which to my surprise included Cliff, broke into laughter.
However,
the director was not amused and yelled in an irritated voice, “Cut! Let’s go
again. Sandra, try not to knock over the pencils this time.â€
Encouraged
by the laughter and not wanting to acknowledge it was an accident, I countered,
“The character description says she’s inept. I thought it would be funny.†There was a pause as the director gave it some
thought. “Okay, go with it. But for the record the description says inept, not
clumsy.†The director always has to have the last word, as well he or she
should.
We
did one or two more takes, close-ups, etc., and moved into the interior of the
lawyer’s office. After making the introductions, I turned to go and suddenly
remembered the hilarious scene in the 1973 film Day for Night in which the Italian actress Valentina Cortese kept
opening or colliding with the wrong door. With that embedded in my mind, I deliberately
walked smack into the open office door. Everyone stifled a laugh as I muttered
something and exited very tentatively while closing the door behind me. (Interestingly,
Ingrid Bergman said in her 1975 Oscar acceptance speech, “This Oscar belongs to
Valentina Cortese for her performance in Day
for Night.â€)
The
director yelled, “Cut! Good! Like it! Let’s do it again, and Dina, give me an
‘I don’t believe her’ reaction.†She did a marvelous blank look, rolling her
eyes upward.
We
did the scene a few more times, then moved back to my outer desk as Dina and
her assistant took their leave. That was it for the day. After saying farewell
and thank you to everyone, I gathered my things from my trailer, including the
wardrobe I had worn on the show, and began the long walk to my car parked in the
back lot at Universal. Just a short distance from the sound stage a bland, nondescript
car slowed down and a male voice called, “Can I give you a lift to your car?â€
Without
even looking at who was driving, I happily replied, “That would be great!†(Studio
personnel driving cars and golf carts on the lot often did this helpful thing,
so I didn’t hesitate accepting.) After getting myself, my wardrobe and other
stuff situated in the passenger seat, I turned to look at the driver. It was
Cliff Robertson! I think I said something like, “Oh, it’s you,†not knowing at
the moment what else to say.
He
laughed and complimented me on my performance, which of course I graciously
accepted. We talked briefly about his film Charly,
which he was very proud of, and then I asked him how Dina was going to get home.
He grinned and said, “They have a limo for her.â€